Chicago-area home sales spike, prices edge up in February

February’s existing-home sales were up 10.2 percent nationwide from a year earlier, a Realtors group reported. (Justin Sullivan, Getty Photo)

Sales of existing homes in the Chicago area last month rose dramatically from their year-ago pace. Prices rose too but at a much smaller rate.

February home sales in the nine-county Chicago area totaled 5,935, a 20.2 percent increase from the same month a year earlier, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported Thursday. The median price rose 3.7 percent year over year, to $140,000.

While a good indicator of interest in the market, the monthly report benefited from easy comparisons. The median sales price of $135,000 that was posted in February 2012 for the Chicago area was the low point for the market since at least January 2008.

"The bumpy recovery of the housing market continues," said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of University of Illinois' regional economics applications laboratory.

Compared with a year ago, prospective buyers have a lot fewer homes from which to choose. In some counties, the number of available properties is down by more than 40 percent. That is driving down the number of days it takes to sell homes and leading to multiple offers on desirable properties.

Within the city of Chicago, sales rose 10.2 percent, with 1,378 properties changing hands in February, while the median price climbed to $158,000, a gain of 12.9 percent from February 2012.

The price of condominiums within the city showed even greater recovery last month. Condo sales rose 10.2 percent from a year earlier, and the median sales price, $200,000, was up 21.2 percent from February 2012.

New would-be buyers continue to express interest in the Chicago-area housing market.

About 1,000 people have registered to participate in the Illinois Housing Development Authority's homebuyer expo Saturday at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Meanwhile, a March 30 prepurchase workshop on the city's South Side scheduled by Partners in Community Building Inc., a government-certified housing counseling agency, is expected to draw 50 participants, double the number who attended a similar event in February.

"It's definitely picking up," said Bertina Power, director of housing education and outreach for the group. "Nobody is really scared anymore. They're just being a little cautious and realistic."

Nationally, February existing-home sales rose 10.2 percent from a year ago, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million homes sold in February. Sales volume has topped its year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months, while median prices have posted year-over-year gains for the past 12 months, the National Association of Realtors said.